Systems and methods for providing location services for a welding power supply

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described herein include wireless control of a welding power supply via portable electronic devices, such as dedicated original equipment manufacturer (OEM) welding remote devices, cellular radio telephones, satellite radio telephones, laptops computers, tablet computers, and so forth. In particular, operating parameters and statuses of the welding power supply may be modified by the portable electronic device, as well as be displayed on the portable electronic device. A pairing procedure may be used to pair the welding power supply and the portable electronic device in a wireless communication network. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, a method of providing location services for the welding power supply includes utilizing location data for the portable electronic device controlling the welding power supply as an approximation for the location of the welding power supply.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to welding systems and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for providing location services forwelding power supply units.

Welding power supply units are welding systems configured to convertinput power to welding output power suitable for use in a weldingoperation. In certain embodiments, the welding power supply units evengenerate the power that is converted into the welding output power.Conventionally, welding power supply units are controlled via a controlpanel disposed on an exterior surface of an enclosure of the weldingpower supply unit. However, often, welding operators perform weldingoperations at locations that are at relatively large distances away fromthe welding power supply units. In such situations, the weldingoperators often have to walk all the way back to the welding powersupply units to modify settings of the welding operations. As such,there is a need for the ability to control welding power supply unitsfrom relatively remote locations via wireless remote control devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein include wireless control of a welding powersupply via portable electronic devices, such as dedicated originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) welding remote devices, cellular radiotelephones, satellite radio telephones, laptops computers, tabletcomputers, and so forth. In particular, operating parameters andstatuses of the welding power supply may be modified by the portableelectronic device, as well as be displayed on the portable electronicdevice. A pairing procedure may be used to pair the welding power supplyand the portable electronic device in a wireless communication network.Furthermore, in certain embodiments, a method of providing locationservices for the welding power supply includes utilizing location datafor the portable electronic device controlling the welding power supplyas an approximation for the location of the welding power supply.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a welding-type system configured to communicatewirelessly with a wireless remote control device, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless remote control device configuredto communicate wirelessly with the welding-type system of FIG. 1, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an engine-driven welding power supply configured tocommunicate wirelessly with the wireless remote control device of FIG.2, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary functional componentsof an embodiment of the engine-driven welding power supply of FIG. 3, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the wireless remote control device configuredto initiate pairing of the wireless remote control device with theengine-driven welding power supply of FIG. 4, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates the wireless remote control device configured toimplement a find function for the wireless remote control device, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a work area within which multiple welding powersupplies are located, in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a welding-type system 10 capable of performingvarious types of operations. The welding-type system 10 is merelyrepresentative of a wide variety of welding-type machines having varioussizes, features, and ratings. The welding-type system 10, ascontemplated herein, can be configured to not only perform standardwelding operations such as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, metal inertgas (MIG) welding, and/or stick welding, but can also be capable ofperforming various other operations that are closely associated with thevarious welding procedures, such as plasma cutting, carbon arc gouging,and so forth. The welding-type system 10 includes a power supply 12 tocondition raw power and generate a power signal suitable for weldingapplications. The power supply 12 includes a control panel 14 throughwhich an operator may adjust operating parameters of the welding-typesystem 10. Connected to the power supply 12 is a torch 16 via a weldcable 18 that provides the torch 16 with power and compressed air orgas, where needed.

Also connected to the power supply 12 is a work clamp 20, which isdesigned to connect to a workpiece (not shown) to be welded and providea return path. Connecting the work clamp 20 to the power supply 12 is awork cable 22 designed to provide the return path for the weldingcurrent from the torch 16 through the workpiece and the work clamp 20.Extending from a rear portion of the power supply 12 is a power cable 24having a plug 26 for connecting the power supply 12 to either a portablepower supply (not shown) or a transmission line power receptacle (notshown). Also connected to the power source is a gas source 28 configuredto supply a gas flow to the welding torch 16.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the power supply 12 may be configured tocommunicate wirelessly with a wireless remote control device 30, whichmay be a portable electronic device specifically configured to functionas a remote control device for the power supply 12 or may be any type ofportable electronic device, such as smart phones, tablet computers,laptop computers, and so forth, that may have software or firmware (aswell as security keys) installed thereon to control the power supply 12.In certain embodiments, the wireless remote control device 30 may beused at a welding application location relatively remote from the powersupply 12, yet still provide substantially the same display and inputdevices that the control panel 14 of the power supply 12 provides. Inother words, the wireless remote control device 30 may be used as aremote control panel when it is not feasible or practical to use thecontrol panel 14 on the power supply 12. However, it should be notedthat the embodiments presented herein enable for additionalfunctionality of the welding power supply 12 to be controlled and/ormonitored by the wireless remote control device 30, as described ingreater detail herein.

A variety of wireless remote control devices 30 may employ thetechniques described herein. FIG. 2, for example, is a block diagramdepicting various components that may be present in a suitable wirelessremote control device 30 that may be used in the implementation of thepresent techniques. The wireless remote control device 30 may include ahandheld electronic device, a tablet computing device, a notebookcomputer, and so forth. In other embodiments, the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may include a welding-related device, such as aportable welding wire feeder, a welding helmet, a welding controlpendant, a foot pedal, and so forth.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the wireless remote control device 30 mayinclude, among other things, a display 32, input structures 34,input/output (I/O) ports 36, one or more processor(s) 38, memory 40,nonvolatile storage 42, a network interface 44, and a power source 46.The various functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 may include hardwareelements (including certain types of circuitry), software elements(including computer code stored on a non-transitory computer-readablemedium), or a combination of both hardware and software elements. Itshould be noted that FIG. 2 is merely one example of a particularimplementation and is intended to illustrate the types of componentsthat may be present in the wireless remote control device 30. Indeed,the various depicted components (e.g., the processor(s) 38) may beseparate components, components of a single contained module (e.g., asystem-on-a-chip device), or may be incorporated wholly or partiallywithin any of the other elements within the wireless remote controldevice 30. The components depicted in FIG. 2 may be embodied wholly orin part as machine-readable instructions (e.g., software or firmware),hardware, or any combination thereof.

In the wireless remote control device 30 of FIG. 2, the display 32 maybe any suitable electronic display used to display image data (e.g., aliquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED)display). In some examples, the display 32 may represent one of theinput structures 34, enabling users to interact with a user interface ofthe wireless remote control device 30. In some embodiments, theelectronic display 32 may be a touch display that can detect multipletouches at once. Other input structures 34 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may include buttons, keyboards, mice, trackpads,rotating knobs, and the like. The I/O ports 36 may enable the wirelessremote control device 30 to interface with various other electronicdevices.

The processor(s) 38 and/or other data processing circuitry may executeinstructions and/or operate on data stored in the memory 40 and/or thenonvolatile storage 42. The memory 40 and the nonvolatile storage 42 maybe any suitable articles of manufacture that include tangible,non-transitory computer-readable media to store the instructions ordata, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flashmemory, hard drives, and optical discs. By way of example, a computerprogram product containing the instructions may include an operatingsystem or an application program. In certain embodiments, theinstructions stored in the memory 40 and/or the nonvolatile storage 42of the wireless remote control device 30 may include software includinginstructions for enabling the wireless communication with the weldingpower supply 12, including pairing with the welding power supply 12,enabling prioritization of control between the welding power supply 12and the wireless remote control device 30, enabling control of thewelding power supply 12 via the wireless remote control device 30, andso forth. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, security keys that areused to check whether the wireless remote control device 30 isauthorized to communicate with the welding power supply 12, and viceversa, may be stored in the memory 40 and/or the nonvolatile storage 42of the wireless remote control device 30.

The network interface 44 may include, for example, one or moreinterfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as a BLUETOOTHnetwork, for a local area network (LAN), such as an 802.11x-based WI-FInetwork or a ZIGBEE™ network, and/or for a wide area network (WAN), suchas a 4G or LTE cellular network or any other cellular data network. Thepower source 46 of the wireless remote control device 30 may be anysuitable source of energy, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer(Li-poly) battery and/or an alternating current (AC) power converter. Inaddition, the wireless remote control device 30 may include locationcircuitry 47, such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, thatenables the wireless remote control device 30 to determine its locationeither globally or with respect to a work area (e.g., see work area 94illustrated in FIG. 7), such as a shipbuilding yard, warehouse, or otherwork environment. As described in greater detail herein, the ability ofthe wireless remote control device 30 to determine its own locationenables the welding power supply 12 to use the location of the wirelessremote control device 30 as an approximate location of the welding powersupply 12. In other words, the welding power supply 12 may determinethat the wireless remote control device 30 is within local wirelesstransmission range from the welding power supply 12 and, as such, isrelatively close to the location of the wireless remote control device30, which is determined by its location circuitry 47. Accordingly, thewelding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30 mayshare the location information relating to the wireless remote controldevice 30, which may be stored in the memory 40 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 and/or a memory (e.g., memory 64 illustrated in FIG.4) of the welding power supply 12.

As mentioned above, the wireless remote control device 30 may take theform of a computer or other type of electronic device. Such computersmay generally be portable (such as laptop, notebook, and tabletcomputers). In other embodiments, the wireless remote control device 30may be, for example, a portable phone (e.g., a smart phone), a mediaplayer, a personal data organizer, or any combination of such devices.In particular, in certain embodiments, the wireless remote controldevice 30 may be a cellular radio telephone utilizing cellular,satellite radio telephone utilizing satellite, BLUETOOTH, or WI-FI tocommunicate with the power supply 12. In general, the wireless remotecontrol device 30 is a portable electronic device, in other words,handheld or otherwise easily portable by a single human operator.

The wireless communication networking techniques described herein enableseamless and secure exchange of welding parameters, as well as jobinformation and other user data, between the wireless remote controldevice 30 and the power supply 12. Such wireless communicationnetworking techniques enable welding personnel or other industrialequipment personnel, with little or no experience in areas ofcommunication theory, radio frequency technology, or informationtechnology, to easily assemble and operate wireless communicationnetworks that include a plurality of various equipment and accessories.The wireless communication networking techniques described herein makeit easy and intuitive for the aforementioned personnel to manuallyassemble a wireless network at the job site, and begin using suchwireless networks to perform safe and secure control of the weldingequipment and accessories, as well as exchange information with otherparties in the welding shop or at areas remote from the welding shop.

As discussed above, the power supply 12 illustrated in FIG. 1 is merelyexemplary and not intended to be limiting. For example, in certainembodiments, the power supply 12 may be an engine-driven welding powersupply, such as illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a block diagramillustrating exemplary functional components of an embodiment of theengine-driven welding power supply 12. Although illustrated in FIG. 4 asbeing an engine-driven welding power supply 12 capable of being poweredby gasoline or natural gas, in other embodiments, the welding powersupply 12 may not be engine-driven, but rather may be powered by othertypes of power sources as discussed above with respect to FIG. 1. Forexample, in certain embodiments, the welding power supply 12 may bepowered by a lithium-ion battery, a lithium-magnesium battery, a fuelcell, a solid state energy storage device such as a silicon-basedcapacitor, or any chemically based energy storage device, for example, alead acid battery, any of which may either be disposed within anenclosure 67 of the welding power supply 12 or external to the weldingpower supply 12.

In the engine-driven embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, instead ofutilizing power from an external power source, the engine-driven powersupply 12 includes an engine 48, a generator 50, and power conversioncircuitry 52 for generating welding power via a welding output 54 fordelivery to the welding torch 16 and, in certain embodiments, forgenerating auxiliary power via an auxiliary output 55 for delivery toauxiliary equipment 56, such as a second welding power supply, lightingsystems, grinding machines, and so forth. The generator 50 is coupled tothe engine 48 via a shaft 57 that is configured to rotate, as indicatedby arrow 58.

The power supply 12 includes a controller 60 configured to controloperation of the power supply 12. In particular, in certain embodiments,the controller 60 of the power supply 12 includes one or moreprocessor(s) 62 configured to execute program instructions stored in atangible non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 64.For example, in certain embodiments, the memory 64 may store softwareincluding instructions for controlling the components of the powersupply 12, instructions for interacting with wireless communicationcircuitry 66 to wirelessly communicate with the wireless remote controldevice 30, security keys that are used to check whether the wirelesscommunication circuitry 66 is authorized to communicate with thewireless remote control device 30, and vice versa, and so forth. Theprocessor(s) 62 may include a general purpose processor, system-on-chip(SoC) device, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or otherprocessor configuration. Similarly, the memory 64 may include, forexample, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flashmemory (e.g., NAND), and so forth.

During operation, a rotor of the generator 50 is driven into rotationwithin a stator of the generator 50 by the engine 48, thereby generatingAC power. That is, the shaft 57 rotates, as shown by arrow 58, totransmit power from the engine 48 to the generator 50. The shaft 57 alsoconnects the engine 48 and the generator 50 for proper alignment whileresisting bending and axial loads. The engine 48 and the generator 50cooperate to generate power that may be converted into the welding powervia the welding output 54 and, in certain embodiments, the auxiliarypower via the auxiliary output 55 by the power conversion circuitry 52.

The operation of the power supply 12 is regulated and controlled by thecontroller 60. For example, the controller 60 regulates and controls theoperation of the engine 48 via a bi-directional exchange of informationbetween the engine 48 and the controller 60. The controller 60 mayreceive one or more inputs from the operator via the control panel 14and may regulate engine performance according to the operator inputs.For instance, a user may specify the type of welding process (e.g., ACstick welding, AC TIG welding, DC stick welding, DC MIG welding, etc.),voltage and/or current settings for the welding process, and so forth,and the controller 60 may determine an appropriate engine speed, amongmany other operating parameters, based on such inputs. The controller 60may similarly control operation of the generator 50, the powerconversion circuitry 52, and other components of the power supply 12.

As also illustrated in FIG. 4, the power supply 12 includes wirelesscommunication circuitry 66 configured to facilitate wirelesscommunication with the wireless remote control device 30. In certainembodiments, the wireless communication circuitry 66 may include RFcommunication circuitry, such as RF transmitters and sensors. In otherembodiments, a radio subsystem and an associated signaling protocol maybe implemented to wirelessly send and receive commands and data betweenthe power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30. However,in other embodiments, any suitable means for communicating wirelesslybetween the power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30may be utilized. In certain embodiments where a telecommunication (e.g.,cellular, satellite, etc.) infrastructure is not readily available(e.g., at a remote construction site), a local wireless access point(WAP) 96, such as point-to-point WI-FI, may be used to facilitate localwireless communication between the wireless communication circuitry 66of the welding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device30.

In addition, in certain embodiments, the wireless communicationcircuitry 66 may include one or more processor(s) (i.e., similar to theone or more processor(s) 62 of the controller 60 of the power supply 12)configured to execute program instructions stored in a tangiblenon-transitory computer-readable medium (i.e., similar to the memory 64of the controller 60 of the power supply 12) for enabling the wirelesscommunication with the wireless remote control device 30, includingpairing with the wireless remote control device 30, enablingprioritization of control between the welding power supply 12 and thewireless remote control device 30, enabling control of the welding powersupply 12 via the wireless remote control device 30, and so forth.Furthermore, in certain embodiments, security keys that are used tocheck whether the wireless communication circuitry 66 is authorized tocommunicate with the wireless remote control device 30, and vice versa,may be stored in the computer-readable medium of the wirelesscommunication circuitry 66. It will be appreciated that while thecontroller 60 and the wireless communication circuitry 66 are describedherein as being separate components, in certain embodiments, thecontroller 60 and the wireless communication circuitry 66 maycollectively function as integrated control circuitry of the weldingpower supply 12.

In certain embodiments, all of the components, including the wirelesscommunication circuitry 66, of the welding power supply 12 illustratedin FIG. 4 may be disposed in a common housing (i.e., enclosure) 67. Insuch embodiments, the wireless communication circuitry 66 functions asthe coordinator for the wireless communication network 76 between thewelding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30 localto (e.g., resident within) the welding power supply 12, as opposed tohaving coordination functionality being located remote from (e.g.,external to) the welding power supply 12. However, in other embodiments,the wireless communication circuitry 66 may be disposed external to thehousing 67 of the welding power supply 12. For example, in certainembodiments, the wireless communication circuitry 66 may be disposed ina separate housing that is configured to directly connect to the weldingpower supply 12. In particular, the separate housing that encompassesthe wireless communication circuitry 66 may include one or more externalconnectors disposed on the housing that are configured to mate with oneor more ports on the welding power supply 12 (e.g., via the controlpanel 14, for example), thereby enabling the wireless communicationcircuitry 66 to communicate with the controller 60 of the welding powersupply 12, the control panel 14 of the welding power supply 12, and soforth. As such, in certain embodiments, the wireless remote controlfunctionality enabled by the wireless communication circuitry 66 asdescribed herein may be retrofitted into pre-existing welding powersupplies 12. It will be appreciated that once such a retrofitcommunication module is connected to a pre-existing welding power supply12, the wireless communication circuitry 66 of the retrofitcommunication module may cooperate with the controller 60, control panel14, and all other components, of the welding power supply 12 asdescribed herein to enable the wireless control functionality for awireless remote control device 30.

As previously discussed, although illustrated in FIG. 4 as including anengine-driven welding power supply 12, the wireless remote controlprotocols and methods described herein may be used with any type ofwelding power supplies, line-powered, engine-driven, or otherwise. Forexample, in certain embodiments, as opposed to being an engine-drivenwelding power supply 12 having an engine 48 that drives a generator 50to produce power that is converted into welding power via a weldingoutput 54 and, in certain embodiments, auxiliary power via an auxiliaryoutput 55 by the power conversion circuitry 52, the welding power supply12 may instead receive power from an external source, such as anelectrical grid, and the power conversion circuitry 52 may convert thispower to the welding power via the welding output 54, the auxiliarypower via the auxiliary output 55, and so forth.

In general, all of the components illustrated in FIG. 4 as beingincluded in the welding power supply 12 may be disposed in a commonhousing or enclosure 67 of the welding power supply 12. For example, incertain embodiments, the welding power supply 12 may include acompressor 68 that is powered by the engine 48 and/or the generator 50,and is utilized to produce compressed air 70 for use in the weldingapplication, without the need for an intermediate storage tank. Forexample, although not illustrated in FIG. 4, in certain embodiments, thecompressor 68 may be coupled to the engine 48 (e.g., directly via ashaft or indirectly via a system of belts) and driven by the engine 48.In other embodiments, the compressor 68 may be directly or indirectlycoupled to, and driven by, the generator 50. In addition, in certainembodiments, the welding power supply 12 may include a hydraulic pump 72that is powered by the engine 48 and/or the generator 50, and isutilized to pump fluids 74 for use in the welding application. Forexample, although not illustrated in FIG. 4, in certain embodiments, thehydraulic pump 72 may be coupled to the engine 48 (e.g., directly via ashaft or indirectly via a system of belts) and driven by the engine 48.In other embodiments, the hydraulic pump 72 may be directly orindirectly coupled to, and driven by, the generator 50.

Once the wireless remote control device 30 and the welding power supply12 are paired with each other, as described in greater detail herein,any number of operational parameters and statuses of the welding powersupply 12 may be controlled by the wireless remote control device 30.Examples of the types of control modes that may be controlled by theuser using the wireless remote control device 30 are described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/229,312, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODSFOR WIRELESS CONTROL OF A WELDING POWER SUPPLY,” filed Mar. 28, 2014,which is incorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes.

Before the wireless remote control device 30 may begin controlling thewelding power supply 12, the wireless communication network 76 betweenthe wireless remote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12must first be established. In certain embodiments, to establish thewireless communication network 76 between the wireless remote controldevice 30 and the welding power supply 12, the wireless remote controldevice 30 and the welding power supply 12 may first be paired to eachother. This pairing may be initialized by first pressing a button 78(i.e., a first synchronization mechanism) on the wireless remote controldevice 30, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, or a virtual button (i.e., a firstsynchronization mechanism) on the display 32 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30. Once the pairing procedure has been initiated, amessage 80 may be displayed on the display 32 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 that informs the user that a similar button (i.e., asecond synchronization mechanism) on the welding power supply 12 needsto be pressed to complete the pairing process of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 and the welding power supply 12 into the wirelesscommunication network 76. Once the button (i.e., the secondsynchronization mechanism) on the welding power supply 12 has beenpressed, the network 76 may be established by the wireless communicationcircuitry 66 of the welding power supply 12, which may function as thenetwork coordinator in certain embodiments, as described in greaterdetail herein. In addition, a message 82 may be displayed on the display32 of the wireless remote control device 30 that informs the user thatthe wireless communication network 76 has been established, asillustrated in FIG. 5B.

In certain embodiments, the pairing of the wireless remote controldevice 30 and the welding power supply 12 may only be initiated when thesynchronization mechanisms (e.g., the buttons or virtual buttons) on thewireless remote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12 aresimultaneously activated (e.g., pressed). However, it will beappreciated that in other embodiments, the pairing of the wirelessremote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12 may beinitiated when the synchronization mechanism on the welding power supply12 is activated within a given time period (e.g., within 15 seconds,within 10 seconds, within 5 seconds, and so forth) after the initialpairing request from the wireless remote control device 30.

Although initiation of the pairing process has been described as beingperformed from the wireless remote control device 30, it will beappreciated that in certain embodiments, initiation of the pairingprocess may be performed from the control panel 14 of the welding powersupply 12, with the messages being displayed on a display on the controlpanel 14, the first button press being on the control panel 14 of thewelding power supply 12, and the second button press being on thewireless remote control device 30. Again, in certain embodiments, thepairing of the wireless remote control device 30 with the welding powersupply 12 may only be initiated when the synchronization mechanisms(e.g., the buttons or virtual buttons) on the wireless remote controldevice 30 and the welding power supply 12 are simultaneously activated(e.g., pressed). However, it will be appreciated that in otherembodiments, the pairing of the wireless remote control device 30 andthe welding power supply 12 may be accomplished when the synchronizationmechanism on the wireless remote control device 30 is activated within agiven time period (e.g., within 15 seconds, within 10 seconds, within 5seconds, and so forth) after the initial pairing request from thewelding power supply 12.

In addition, in other embodiments, other procedures for initiatingpairing between the wireless remote control device 30 and the weldingpower supply 12 may be used. For example, in certain embodiments, thepairing may be initiated by first pressing the button 78 on the wirelessremote control device 30, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, or a virtual buttonon the display 32 of the wireless remote control device 30. Once thepairing procedure has been initiated, confirmation of activation of thebutton 78 or the virtual button on the display 32 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may be confirmed via the control panel 14 of thewelding power supply 12, for example, via a display on the control panel14 or by activation of a button on the control panel 14. Conversely, inother embodiments, the pairing may be initiated by first pressing abutton on the control panel 14 of the welding power supply 12. Once thepairing procedure has been initiated, confirmation of activation of thebutton on the welding power supply 12 may be confirmed via the displayof the wireless remote control device 30.

In other embodiments, the pairing process may be initiated by a userentering certain identifying information (e.g., a serial number, a name,a description, a passcode, and so forth, or any combination thereof)relating to the welding power supply 12 via the display 32 of thewireless remote control device 30. Alternatively, the pairing processmay be initiated by a user entering certain identifying information(e.g., a serial number, a name, a description, a passcode, and so forth,or any combination thereof) relating to the wireless remote controldevice 30 via the control panel 14 of the welding power supply 12. Insuch embodiments, assuming that both the wireless remote control device30 and the welding power supply 12 include the appropriate security(e.g., encryption) keys, and that the information entered by the user iscorrect, the pairing between the wireless remote control device 30 andthe welding power supply 12 is allowed.

In yet other embodiments, to facilitate initiation of the pairingprocess, one or more of the wireless remote control device 30 and thewelding power supply 12 may be configured to provide a pairing cue to anoperator, and information relating to the cue may be entered in theother of the wireless remote control device 30 and the welding powersupply 12. In certain embodiments, the pairing cue may be a visualindication (e.g., a flashing display, special characters on analphanumeric display, flashing light emitting diodes, characters, orlamps that illuminate, and so forth) or an aural indication (e.g., abuzzer, a loudspeaker with a tone alert or a recorded voice, and soforth). Such embodiments facilitate pairing of welding power supplies 12that are rack-mounted or otherwise not easily accessible by theoperator.

In certain embodiments, once the pairing process has been initiated byeither the wireless remote control device 30 or the welding power supply12, a power level of the wireless communication circuitry 66 (e.g., apower level of a radio transmitter) of the welding power supply 12 maybe reduced as a means to avoid inadvertent pairing to unintendeddevices. In general, once the pairing process has been completed and thewireless communication network 76 has been established between thewelding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30, thepower level of the wireless communication circuitry 66 may be increasedback to a normal level, for example, back to the power level before thepairing process was initiated.

Although many embodiments described herein relate to pairing of awireless remote control device 30 with a welding power supply 12 that isinitiated via manual activation of certain features (e.g., buttons, andso forth) on both of the devices, in other embodiments, the pairingbetween a wireless remote control device 30 and a welding power supply12 may be initiated using other methods. For example, a given wirelessremote control device 30 may be pre-programmed to be paired with aparticular welding power supply 12, or vice versa, when manufactured ina factory. Furthermore, in other embodiments, instead of requiringactivation of features on both the wireless remote control device 30 andthe welding power supply 12, pairing between the devices may beinitiated via a single manual synchronization method. In other words,activation of only a feature on a wireless remote control device 30 maybe sufficient to initiate synchronization (i.e., pairing) with a weldingpower supply 12. In such an embodiment, for example, once a user pressesa synchronization button on the wireless remote control device 30, amenu option may be displayed via the display 32 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30, whereby the user can select a welding power supply 12(from a list of welding power supplies 12 having the requisite securitykeys, for example) with which to pair the wireless remote control device30. It will be appreciated that a similar single manual synchronizationpairing method may also be implemented from the control panel 14 of thewelding power supply 12 as well, whereby the user selects a specificwireless remote control device 30 (from a list of wireless remotecontrol devices 30 having the requisite security keys, for example) withwhich to pair the welding power supply 12.

In general, only one wireless remote control device 30 may be pairedwith one welding power supply 12 at any given time (i.e., the wirelessremote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12 may only bepaired together in a 1:1 pairing relationship). In other words, only onewireless remote control device 30 may be capable of remotely controllinga given welding power supply 12 at any given time, and a given weldingpower supply 12 may only be capable of being remotely controlled by onewireless remote control device 30 at any given time.

However, in certain embodiments, more than one wireless remote controldevice 30 may be paired with a given welding power supply 12 at anygiven time, and these wireless remote control devices 30 may be used tocontrol the welding power supply 12 in tandem. As a non-limitingexample, in one embodiment, a wireless foot pedal may be used to controlamperage of the welding output 54 of the welding power supply 12 and awireless remote control device 30 may be used to control the type ofwelding process, starting and/or stopping of the welding power supply12, and so forth. In such embodiments, a certain type of wireless remotecontrol device 30 may control a certain subset of control features forthe welding power supply 12, whereas other types of wireless remotecontrol devices 30 may control other subsets of control features for thewelding power supply 12, and the combined subsets of control featuresmay be complementary with each other. In the case where multiple pairedwireless remote control devices 30 are both capable of controlling agiven feature (e.g., parameter or status) for the welding power supply12, certain priorities between the multiple paired wireless remotecontrol devices 30 may be stored in the memory 64 of the controller 60,and prioritization of control between the multiple paired wirelessremote control devices 30 may be implemented accordingly.

At any given time after the welding power supply 12 and the wirelessremote control device 30 have been paired together, a de-pairingprocedure may be performed to terminate the pairing between the weldingpower supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30. For example,a user may initiate termination of the pairing between a given weldingpower supply 12 and a paired wireless remote control device 30 byinteracting with either the control panel 14 of the welding power supply12 or the wireless remote control device 30 (e.g., via the display 32 ofthe wireless remote control device 30). For instance, an option tode-pair the welding power supply 12 from the wireless remote controldevice 30 may be selected by the user as an option in a menu presentedvia the display 32 of the wireless remote control device 30 (or,similarly, via the control panel 14 of the welding power supply 12).Once de-pairing is initiated, the controller 60 of the welding powersupply 12 may cause the wireless communication circuitry 66 of thewelding power supply 12 to terminate the wireless communication network76 between the welding power supply 12 and the wireless remote controldevice 30, and signals may be sent to both the control panel 14 of thewelding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30 todisplay to users of the welding power supply 12 and the wireless remotecontrol device 30 that the pairing has been terminated and the wirelesscommunication network 76 between the welding power supply 12 and thewireless remote control device 30 no longer exists.

It will be appreciated that other events may initiate termination ofpairing between a given welding power supply 12 and a paired wirelessremote control device 30. For example, in the event that the pairedwireless remote control device 30 has been outside of the range of thewireless communication network 76 for a certain period of time, thecontroller 60 of the welding power supply 12 may automatically initiatethe de-pairing procedure described above. In such an event, the user ofthe welding power supply 12 may be provided with a prompt via thecontrol panel 14 of the welding power supply 12 to confirm that the userdoes, in fact, wish for the pairing between the welding power supply 12and the wireless remote control device 30 to be terminated. In certainsituations, the user may instead wish to leave the wirelesscommunication network 76 in place, and to simply bring the wirelessremote control device 30 back into the range of the wirelesscommunication network 76.

In certain embodiments, de-pairing of the wireless remote control device30 and the welding power supply 12 may not be initiated unless theoperator performs an intentional action like re-pairing the wirelessremote control device 30 with another welding power supply 12,re-pairing another wireless remote control device 30 to the weldingpower supply 12, and so forth. Furthermore, the wireless communicationnetwork 76 between the paired welding power supply 12 and wirelessremote control device 30 is maintained even if the operator turns offthe welding power supply 12 or the engine 48 of the welding power supply12. It will be appreciated that any type of welding power supply 12,line-powered, engine-driven, or otherwise, may utilize the pairing andde-pairing techniques described herein in conjunction with the wirelessremote control device 30.

In certain embodiments, once the welding power supply 12 and thewireless remote control device 30 are paired together, the controller 60of the welding power supply 12 functions as the ZIGBEE™ coordinator forthe ZIGBEE™ network 76 created between the welding power supply 12 andthe wireless remote control device 30. In other words, the controller 60of the welding power supply 12 may be responsible for establishing theZIGBEE™ network 76, maintaining wireless communications via the ZIGBEE™network 76, etc. The ZIGBEE™ coordinator functionality of the controller60 is similar to the functionality of the master node devices describedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/795,639, entitled “WIRELESSCOMMUNICATION NETWORK FOR CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT IN HARSHENVIRONMENTS,” filed Mar. 12, 2013, which is incorporated herein in itsentirety for all purposes. It should be noted that the ZIGBEE™coordinator functionality need not necessarily reside in the weldingpower supply 12. Rather, in other embodiments, the ZIGBEE™ coordinatorfunctionality may reside in a separate master node device thatfacilitates communication between the welding power supply 12 and thewireless remote control device 30. In yet other embodiments, the ZIGBEE™coordinator functionality may reside in the wireless remote controldevice 30. More specifically, the processor 38 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may execute instructions stored on its memory 40 thatcarry out the ZIGBEE™ coordinator functionality of network associationand security, improved robustness, power management and optimization,sensor data transmission, and so forth.

Furthermore, while the wireless communication network 76 establishedbetween the welding power supply 12 and the wireless remote controldevice 30 may be a ZIGBEE™ network 76 (e.g., as message payloads in the802.15.4 and ZIGBEE™ descriptions) in certain embodiments, other typesof wireless communication networks may be established between thewelding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30, andthe network coordinator functionality may be consistent with these othertypes of wireless communication networks. Any type of radio standardcapable of sending packetized data between the welding power supply 12and the wireless remote control device 30 may be used to implement thewireless communication techniques described herein. In general, in thewireless communication network 76, there exists a so-called “masternode”, which effects management (i.e., coordination) of the wirelesscommunication network 76. Other nodes may exist in the wirelesscommunication network 76 for the purpose of exchanging signals (e.g.,commands, responses, data, and so forth), and these other nodes mayassume local network addressing in conjunction with the master node. Insome instances, the temporal relationship for data transfers on thewireless communication network 76 (e.g., which node may send data, andwhen, and for how long, and so forth) is at least partially set bypolicy by the master node. These policies may vary based on the type ofwireless communication network 76. For example, for WI-FI networks (IEEE802.11x), the master node is an access point (or wireless access point);for BLUETOOTH networks (IEEE 802.15.1), there is a master node and aslave node; and for ZIGBEE™ networks (IEEE 802.15.4), there is acoordinator that sets the network for a collection of end nodes androuters.

The existing ZIGBEE™ and ZIGBEE™ Pro network definitions, as embodied intheir respective network “stacks” and described within documentspublished by the ZIGBEE™ Alliance (www.zigbee.org) provide for openpromiscuous network joining of all devices. However, the control ofhigh-powered electrical equipment such as the welding power supply 12described herein requires a higher level of security and reliability,both for security of data and for safety use concerns. Accordingly, theembodiments described herein implement more exclusive control over thewelding power supply 12 and the types of wireless remote control devices30 that are allowed to join the wireless communication network 76 and tocontrol the welding power supply 12. In particular, in certainembodiments, a modified version of the released ZIGBEE™ Pro softwarestack may be implemented, with modifications being made to the securityprovisions, the pairing procedures, and so forth.

More specifically, the generic public ZIGBEE™ Pro stack generally allowsany ZIGBEE™ device to join a network or to use network facilities (i.e.,routers) to form a larger mesh network. In contrast, the embodimentsdescribed herein restrict all network access to only those devices thatare imprinted with security (e.g., encryption) keys. More specifically,in certain embodiments, all wireless communication between the wirelessremote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12 (including thepairing procedure) requires that both the wireless remote control device30 and the welding power supply 12 include security keys stored inmemory of the respective devices. During each communication between thewireless remote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12, thedevices check that the requisite security keys are present and that thewireless communication may be permitted.

In contrast to conventional techniques, in the embodiments describedherein, the security keys are not transmitted between the wirelessremote control device 30 and the welding power supply 12. In otherwords, the security keys are not shared across the wirelesscommunication network 76 between the wireless remote control device 30and the welding power supply 12. Rather, again, the security keys areeither installed in the devices during manufacture (e.g., in the case ofthe welding power supply 12, where the wireless remote control device 30is an OEM device, and so forth) or are pre-loaded into the device priorto the wireless communication with the other device.

It will be appreciated that, in many embodiments, the welding powersupply 12 will be pre-loaded with the security keys (e.g., stored in thememory 64 of the welding power supply 12) when manufactured. Inaddition, in certain embodiments, the wireless remote control device 30will be a dedicated OEM welding device that is specifically manufacturedto operate with the welding power supply 12 and, as such, will bepre-loaded with the security keys required to operate with the weldingpower supply 12. In certain embodiments, all wireless remote controldevices 30 equipped with ZIGBEE™ radios will be pre-loaded at the pointof manufacture with a minimal code load, such as a “boot loader”designed to pair with a welding power supply 12, operating as a ZIGBEE™coordinator. During this initial “first pairing”, a host servicing thecoordinator determines that the wireless remote control device 30 is,for example, an unprogrammed wireless remote control device 30, and thenpushes a firmware image of the code (which will operate the weldingpower supply 12) onto the wireless remote control device 30. When theoperator re-starts the wireless remote control device 30, it will thenassume the personality of the correct wireless remote control device 30for the welding power supply 12.

It will be appreciated that, in certain embodiments, the security keysand/or the communication software or firmware may be downloaded into thewireless remote control device 30 at a different time other than duringmanufacture, for example, prior to the pairing process of the weldingpower supply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30. As anexample, returning now to FIG. 4, the security keys and/or thecommunication software or firmware may be downloaded from an externaldata system 84 (e.g., web server, local area network server, and soforth) that the user of the wireless remote control device 30 connectsto and, in certain embodiments, logs into using login credentials toprovide an added layer of security.

If the wireless remote control device 30 includes the requisite securitykeys, the wireless communication network 76 may recognize the wirelessremote control device 30 and enable pairing of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 with the welding power supply 12. In certainembodiments, once recognized, the controller 60 of the welding powersupply 12 may cause a prompt on the display 32 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 to be displayed that asks for the user of the wirelessremote control device 30 to input a passcode that is, for example,displayed on the control panel 14 of the welding power supply 12 toconfirm that pairing should proceed.

In general, any wireless remote control device 30 having the requisitesecurity keys will be allowed to join the wireless communication network76 and be paired to a welding power supply 12. In certain embodiments,the wireless remote control device 30 may only have the software toallow pairing to a coordinator (e.g., a welding power supply 12). Insuch an embodiment, the coordinator will be programmed to examine thetype of the paired wireless remote control device 30 (e.g., whether itis a pressure mat, grinder, general purpose router, universal remotecontrol, and so forth) and, as required, will initiate a code downloadto the wireless remote control device 30. In such embodiments, thewelding power supply 12 will push code of the latest release (e.g.,version) to the wireless remote control device 30 via the wirelesscommunication network 76 to enable the wireless remote control device 30to control operation of the welding power supply 12. Then, the wirelessremote control device 30 is re-started, and it begins operation as awireless remote controller (e.g., pendant) for the welding power supply12.

In addition, it should be noted that in certain embodiments, dualcontrols (i.e., enabling control from both the wireless remote controldevice 30 and a separate wired remote control device) may be enabled.For example, in certain embodiments, changing to this dual control modemay be configurable under software control. As illustrated in FIG. 4, anexample of this type of dual control may be when a wired accessory 86,such as a foot pedal, is connected to an accessory connector 88 (e.g., amulti-pin connector, such as a 14-pin connector) of the welding powersupply 12, and both the wired accessory 86 and the wireless remotecontrol device 30 are used to control the welding power supply 12. Insuch a situation, the operator may desire to use the wired accessory 86when welding in a TIG welding process (e.g., to finely control thewelding current), but use the wireless remote control device 30 forother features. It will be appreciated that any type of welding powersupply 12, line-powered, engine-driven, or otherwise, may utilize theprioritization techniques described herein in conjunction with thewireless remote control device 30.

Once the welding power supply 12 and the wireless remote control device30 have been paired together, thereby establishing the wirelesscommunication network 76 between them, in certain embodiments, locationservices may be provided via communication between the welding powersupply 12 and the wireless remote control device 30. In certainembodiments, the software or firmware of the wireless remote controldevice 30 may include a “find” function so that if the wireless remotecontrol device 30 is misplaced, it will have either or both of a visualindicator or an audio indicator that can be activated to indicate thelocation of the wireless remote control device 30 to the user. Incertain embodiments, the wireless remote control device 30 may include aflashing lamp or a flashing display backlight that may be illuminated.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, in certain embodiments, thewireless remote control device 30 may include a separate light emittingdiode 90 that may be illuminated (or pulsed) to indicate the location ofthe wireless remote control device 30. In other embodiments, the display32 of the wireless remote control device 30 itself may be illuminated toindicate the location of the wireless remote control device 30. Forexample, when the find function is activated (e.g., when a user selectsthe find function via the control panel 14 of the welding power supply12, thereby sending a control signal to the wireless remote controldevice 30), the light level of the display 32 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may be pulsed in order to create pulsating light tofacilitate identification of the location of the wireless remote controldevice 30. In other embodiments, the wireless remote control device 30may be configured to activate an audio indicator 92 (e.g., a buzzer,speaker, piezo transducer, and so forth), which may be internal to thewireless remote control device 30, to facilitate identification of thelocation of the wireless remote control device 30.

In certain embodiments, the find function may be activated by selectingthe find function via the control panel 14 of the welding power supply12. Once the find function is activated by the user, a signal may besent wirelessly to the wireless remote control device 30, and thewireless remote control device 30 may activate the light emitting diode90 and/or the display 32 and/or the audio indicator 92 to cause thevisual and/or audio indication to be activated on the wireless remotecontrol device 30 to facilitate identification of the location of thewireless remote control device 30. Alternatively, in certainembodiments, the wireless remote control device 30 itself may initiateactivation of the find function in the event, for example, that thewireless remote control device 30 loses its wireless connection to thewelding power supply 12 via the communication network 76. For example,in certain embodiments, if the wireless remote control device 30 ismoved to a location outside of a wireless communication range with thewelding power supply 12 via the communication network 76, the wirelessremote control device 30 may cause the visual and/or audio indicators tobe activated, thereby alerting nearby users that the wireless remotecontrol device 30 should be brought back into the wireless communicationrange with the welding power supply 12 to which it is paired.

As described above with respect to FIG. 2, the wireless remote controldevice 30 includes location circuitry 47 that enables the wirelessremote control device 30 to determine its location. At times when thecommunication network 76 is established between the welding power supply12 and the wireless remote control device 30, the welding power supply12 may communicate wirelessly with the wireless remote control device 30to determine the location information of the wireless remote controldevice 30. Since, the wireless remote control device 30 is withinwireless transmission range of the welding power supply 12, it may beassumed that the welding power supply 12 is in relatively closeproximity to the wireless remote control device 30 and, as such, thewelding power supply 12 may utilize the location information of thewireless remote control device 30 as its own. Accordingly, wheninterrogated by external systems with requests for the location of thewelding power supply 12, the welding power supply 12 may respond to suchrequests for location information with the location information of itsassociated wireless remote control device 30. Therefore, even if thewelding power supply 12 does not include location circuitry, such as aGPS system receiver, the wireless remote control device 30 enables thewelding power supply 12 to operate as if it does include such locationcircuitry, for example, by utilizing the location circuitry 47 of thewireless remote control device 30 controlling the welding power supply12. It will be appreciated that the welding power supply 12 may eithersimply continually communicate with the wireless remote control device30 to determine the location information of the wireless remote controldevice 30, or may periodically store the location information of thewireless remote control device 30 in the memory 64 of the controller 60of the welding power supply 12.

In general, the wireless communication circuitry 66 of the welding powersupply 12 enables multiple methods for providing location services forthe welding power supply 12. FIG. 7 is a diagram of a work area 94within which multiple welding power supplies 12 (two welding powersupplies 12 in the illustrated embodiment) are located. For example, thework area 94 may be a shipbuilding yard, warehouse, or otherconstruction area, among other work areas. In such work areas 94, thereare instances when welding power supplies 12, as well as otherwelding-related equipment, are at least temporarily misplaced simplybecause of the sheer size of the work area 94. For example, an employeemay move a welding power supply 12, as well as other welding equipment,to a location within the work area 94 and then leave at the end of thework shift. Another employee may plan on using that particular weldingpower supply 12, or other welding equipment, but may not be able tolocate it and time may be lost in the search or in replacing the weldingpower supply 12 or other welding equipment. In other instances, awelding power supply 12 and/or other welding equipment may be removedfrom the work area 94 without authorization.

One method for providing location services for the welding powersupplies 12 would be to equip each welding power supply 12 with locationcircuitry, similar to the location circuitry 47 of the wireless remotecontrol device 30, to enable the welding power supplies 12 to determinetheir own locations. As described herein, another method for providinglocation services for the welding power supplies 12 is to configure thewelding power supplies 12 to utilize their wireless communicationcircuitry 66 to wirelessly communicate with other devices to approximatetheir own location based on location data of the devices to which thewelding power supplies 12 are wireless communicating. Doing so providesessentially the same location services without the cost of addinglocation circuitry to the welding power supplies 12

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the work area 94 may include wireless accesspoints (WAPs) 96 disposed within the work area 94. The WAPs 96facilitate wireless access from the welding power supplies 12 toexternal system(s) 84 (i.e., via the Internet or other communicationprotocol) via the wireless communication circuitry 66 of the weldingpower supplies 12. As illustrated, one of the welding power supplies 12is within wireless communication range with two of the WAPs and, thus,may access external system(s) 84 via one or both of the WAPs 96.Furthermore, this welding power supply 12 may utilize the locationservices of the network of the WAPs 96 to approximate its own location.For example, the welding power supply 12 may append its approximatelocation to all data wirelessly transmitted via the WAPs 96.

In contrast, the second welding power supply 12 illustrated in FIG. 7 isnot within wireless communication range with any of the WAPs 96.However, this welding power supply 12 is currently being at leastpartially controlled by the illustrated wireless remote control device30. As such, the wireless remote control device 30 may act as a mobilehot spot for this welding power supply 12. Furthermore, location datafor the wireless remote control device 30 may be wirelessly communicatedto the welding power supply 12, and the welding power supply 12 may usethe location data of the wireless remote control device 30 as anapproximation for its own location. Moreover, in addition to thelocations services provided to the welding power supply 12 by thewireless remote control device 30 and the WAPs 96, the wirelesscommunication circuitry 66 of the welding power supplies 12 enableswireless transmission usage data for the welding power supplies 12 to beshared (e.g., with external system(s) 84 via the Internet) so that, forexample, managers may review productivity reports that are generatedbased on such usage data.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7, in certain embodiments, the workarea 94 may include a fence 98 or other surrounding structure (e.g.,wall, building, etc.) that surrounds a perimeter of the work area 94.One of the WAPs 96 may be located near an entry/exit location (e.g., agate) 100 of the work area 94 so that if a welding power supply 12 (orother welding-related equipment) enters or exits the work area 94, theevent may be noted (e.g., by external monitoring systems communicativelycoupled to the WAP 96 located near the entry/exit location 100). Assuch, simple loss prevention may be mitigated, or at least it can benoted that a welding-related asset (e.g., a welding power supply 12) hasleft the work area 94. It will be appreciated that wireless remotecontrol devices 30 associated with such assets (e.g., welding powersupplies 12) may enable continuous monitoring of the location of theassets with respect to the work area 94. It will also be appreciatedthat, in certain embodiments, the fence 98 illustrated in FIG. 7 may notbe a physical fence, but rather a “virtual fence” that is established bythe ability of the WAPs 96 and various wireless remote control devices30 to continuously monitor the work area 94, which enables continuousmonitoring of the assets within the work area 94.

By using the location services of the wireless remote control device 30controlling the welding power supply 12 as a proxy for location servicesof the welding power supply 12 enables better precision in locating thewelding power supply 12 without the need to equip the welding powersupply 12 with dedicated location circuitry, such as a GPS receiver. Inaddition, productivity improvements may be achieved, as well as enhancedtheft prevention, as described herein.

An additional advantage of utilizing the location circuitry 47 of thewireless remote control device 30 to estimate a location of the weldingpower supply 12 is that, in certain embodiments, the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may function as temporary data storage for the weldingpower supply 12 in, for example, situations where the welding powersupply 12 does not have access to a telecommunications infrastructuresuch that data from the welding power supply 12 may be sent to externaldata system(s) 84 (e.g., external data processing systems and databases,cloud processing and storage, and so forth). Such external datasystem(s) 84 may include, for example, performance monitoring systems asdisclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0277684,entitled “WELDING RESOURCE PERFORMANCE GOAL SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filedMar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated herein in its entirety for allpurposes.

In recent years, it has become increasingly important for constructioncontractors to maintain weld quality and production data for operationaldiagnostics, reporting, and so forth, for several years (e.g., up to 20years). Certain welding power supplies 12, such as engine-driven weldingpower supplies 12, are often used in construction job sites (such ascross-country transmission pipelines) that do not have access totelecommunication infrastructures, such as cellular networks, satellitenetworks, Internet, cloud storage, and so forth. Accordingly, suchremotely located welding power supplies 12 are not capable of sendingoperational data relating to the welding power supply 12 or devicesrelated to the welding power supply 12 (e.g., welding torch 16,auxiliary equipment 56, etc.) to external data system(s) 84 for storage,processing, and so forth.

In such situations, a wireless remote control device 30 being used tocontrol a particular welding power supply 12 may function as temporary(e.g., buffer) data storage for the welding power supply 12. Inparticular, to overcome the difficulty (or, indeed, impossibility) ofmaintaining reliable connectivity to external data system(s) 84 in suchremotely located construction sites, operational data may be transmittedto the wireless remote control device 30 via the wireless communicationcircuitry 66 and recorded in the memory 40 and/or storage 42 of thewireless remote control device 30 during operation of the welding powersupply 12. The operational data transmitted to, and stored in, thewireless remote control device 30 may include, but is not limited to,power, current, and/or voltage outputted by the welding output 54 of thewelding power supply 12, fault codes and diagnostics data, weldproduction statistics (e.g., number and type of produced welds), weldingprocess signal waveforms outputted from the welding output 54 of thewelding power supply 12, weld quality, motion data of the welding torch16, weld joint and seam data, consumables usage, and so forth.

Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the wireless remote control device30 may tag the operational data with location data (e.g., using itslocation circuitry 47) when the operational data is received from thewelding power supply 12. As such, although the welding power supply 12(and, indeed, the wireless remote control device 30) may not have accessto external data system(s) 84 while at the remote construction site, thelocation data (e.g., via the location circuitry 47) may still beavailable to the wireless remote control device 30 and, therefore, theoperational data received from the welding power supply 12 may still betagged when it is received by, and stored in, the wireless remotecontrol device 30. Then, once the wireless remote control device 30 ismoved to a location that has access to external data system(s) 84 (e.g.,the wireless remote control device 30 is moved to a location havingcellular coverage, satellite coverage, and so forth), the stored andlocation tagged (e.g., geotagged) data may be transmitted from thewireless remote control device 30 to the external data system(s) 84. Itwill be appreciated that, in certain embodiments, once the wirelessremote control device 30 receives return confirmation that the data hasbeen received by the external data system(s) 84, the wireless remotecontrol device 30 may delete the data from its memory 40 and/or storage42.

In certain embodiments, the welding power supply 12 may not alwaystransmit the operational data to the wireless remote control device 30.Rather, in certain embodiments, the controller 60 of the welding powersupply 12 may determine when the wireless communication circuitry 66 ofthe welding power supply 12, or when the wireless remote control device30, does not have access to (or has unreliable access to) external datasystem(s) 84. In times where the controller 60 determines that access toexternal data system(s) is either non-existent or unreliable, theoperational data may be transmitted to the wireless remote controldevice 30 for temporary storage and location tagging. In other words, incertain embodiments, the operational data may be transmitted to thewireless remote control device 30 for temporary storage and locationtagging only when the controller 60 determines that the wirelesscommunication circuitry 66 of the welding power supply 12, or when thewireless remote control device 30, does not have access to (or hasunreliable access to) external data system(s) 84.

Although primarily described herein as utilizing location circuitry 47of the wireless remote control device 30 to estimate a location of thewelding power supply 12 using the location data of the wireless remotecontrol device 30 as an approximation, in other embodiments, asdescribed above, the welding power supply 12 may include its ownlocation circuitry (e.g., similar to the location circuitry 47 of thewireless remote control device 30) to determine a location of thewelding power supply 12, and this location data of the welding powersupply 12 may be shared with the wireless remote control device 30 viathe wireless communication network 76, and the wireless remote controldevice 30 may utilize the location data of the welding power supply 12for control purposes and/or to relay to external system(s) 84 thatinquire about the location of the welding power supply 12.

Furthermore, although primarily described herein as utilizing wirelesscommunication as the method for conveying location data to the weldingpower supply 12, in other embodiments, the welding power supply 12 maybe connected to a location services device via the welding cable 18 ofthe welding power supply 12. The location services device may beconfigured to determine location data (e.g., using location circuitrysimilar to the location circuitry 47 of the wireless remote controldevice 30) and to convey the location data to the welding power supplyvia the weld cable 18 using weld cable communications. Exemplary weldcable communication circuitry that may facilitate such weld cablecommunications is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,592,724, entitled “REMOTEWIRE FEEDER USING BINARY PHASE SHIFT KEYING TO MODULATE COMMUNICATIONSOF COMMAND/CONTROL SIGNALS TO BE TRANSMITTED OVER A WELD CABLE,” issuedNov. 26, 2013, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0080154,entitled “REMOTE WIRE FEEDER USING BINARY PHASE SHIFT KEYING TO MODULATECOMMUNICATIONS OF COMMAND/CONTROL SIGNALS TO BE TRANSMITTED OVER A WELDCABLE,” filed Dec. 12, 2006, both of which are incorporated herein intheir entireties for all purposes.

While only certain features of the present disclosure have beenillustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes willoccur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understoodthat the appended claims are intended to cover all such modificationsand changes as fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A welding power supply comprising: powerconversion circuitry configured to convert an input power into an outputpower for a welding operation; wireless communication circuitryconfigured to transmit data to an external data system by wirelesslycommunicating with a telecommunications infrastructure and configured towirelessly communicate with a portable electronic device; and controlcircuitry configured to: control operation of the power conversioncircuitry based at least in part on commands received wirelessly fromthe portable electronic device; generate operational data relating tothe welding power supply or a device related to the welding powersupply; while connectivity with the external data system is availablevia the telecommunications infrastructure, communicate the operationaldata to the external data system; and while connectivity with theexternal data system via the telecommunications infrastructure is notavailable, communicate the operational data to the portable electronicdevice for transmission to the external data system.
 2. The weldingpower supply of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured totransmit the operational data to the portable electronic device fortemporary storage and geotagging when the controller determines that thewireless communication circuitry has no access or limited access to thetelecommunication infrastructure.
 3. The welding power supply of claim1, wherein the controller is configured to receive a request for alocation of the welding power supply from an external system, and torespond to the request for the location of the welding power supply withthe location data of the portable electronic device.
 4. The weldingpower supply of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to storethe location data of the portable electronic device in a memory of thewelding power supply.
 5. The welding power supply of claim 1, whereinthe pairing and the wireless communication are secured using securitykeys stored in both the portable electronic device and the controller,and wherein the security keys are not shared between the portableelectronic device and the controller via the wireless communicationnetwork during the pairing or the wireless communication.
 6. The weldingpower supply of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to pairthe portable electronic device with the welding power supply in a 1:1paired relationship.
 7. The welding power supply of claim 1, wherein thewireless communication network is an IEEE 802.11x-based WI-FI wirelessnetwork.
 8. The welding power supply of claim 1, wherein the wirelesscommunication network is an IEEE 802.15.1 BLUETOOTH wireless network. 9.The welding power supply of claim 1, wherein the wireless communicationnetwork is an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless network with or without a ZIGBEE™software stack.
 10. The welding power supply of claim 1, wherein theportable electronic device is a cellular radio telephone.
 11. Thewelding power supply of claim 1, wherein the portable electronic deviceis a satellite radio telephone.
 12. The welding power supply of claim 1,wherein the portable electronic device is a laptop computer.
 13. Thewelding power supply of claim 1, wherein the portable electronic deviceis a tablet computer.
 14. The welding power supply of claim 1, whereinthe portable electronic device is a dedicated original equipmentmanufacturer (OEM) remote control device.
 15. The welding power supplyof claim 1, wherein the welding power supply is an engine-driven weldingpower supply.
 16. The welding power supply of claim 1, wherein thewelding power supply is powered by a lithium-ion battery, alithium-magnesium battery, or a fuel cell.
 17. A method comprising:pairing a portable electronic device with a welding power supply in awireless communication network; controlling operation of the weldingpower supply based at least in part on commands received wirelessly fromthe portable electronic device via the wireless communication network;and setting location data for the welding power supply equal to locationdata of the portable electronic device; generating operational data,including the location data, relating to the welding power supply or adevice related to the welding power supply; while connectivity with anexternal data system is available via a telecommunicationsinfrastructure, communicating the operational data to the external datasystem via the telecommunications infrastructure; and while connectivitywith the external data system via the telecommunications infrastructureis not available, communicating the operational data to the portableelectronic device for transmission to the external data system.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, comprising temporarily storing and location taggingthe operational data in the portable electronic device when the portableelectronic device has no access or limited access to thetelecommunication infrastructure.
 19. The method of claim 17, comprisingreceiving a request for a location of the welding power supply from theexternal computing system, and responding to the request for thelocation of the welding power supply with the location data of theportable electronic device.
 20. The method of claim 17, comprisingstoring the location data of the portable electronic device in a memoryof the welding power supply.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein pairingthe portable electronic device with the welding power supply in thewireless communication network comprises using security keys stored inboth the portable electronic device and the welding power supply, andwherein the security keys are not shared between the portable electronicdevice and the welding power supply via the wireless communicationnetwork during the pairing.
 22. The method of claim 17, wherein pairingthe portable electronic device with the welding power supply in thewireless communication network comprises pairing the portable electronicdevice with the welding power supply in a 1:1 paired relationship. 23.The method of claim 17, wherein the wireless communication network is anIEEE 802.11x-based WI-FI wireless network, an IEEE 802.15.1 BLUETOOTHwireless network, an IEEE 802.15.4 ZIGBEE™ wireless network, or anyother wireless network.
 24. The method of claim 17, wherein the portableelectronic device is a cellular radio telephone, a satellite radiotelephone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a dedicated originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) remote control device.